Sunday, October 25, 2009

A Full and Happy Weekend

We were very busy all weekend, but it was all fun stuff.

Friday night, we went to see the movie Astro Boy. It was opening night and we were afraid we wouldn't find seats in the theater, because we arrived just as the movie previews were starting, but instead, there were only ten people in the theater. There were at least two times during the movie when I had to ask Blaze not to speak, because he shouted "NO!' at the screen, and another two times when he was crying, but he did really like the movie. It's quite an emotional roller coaster, especially towards the end, but Blaze says he does recommend it for other eight year olds.

Saturday, we went to the Friends of the Library Book sale, which was insanely crowded. The book sale is held twice a year, and we've been to all of them for about the past five years, but this was the most crowded I think I've ever seen it.

People lined up all the way down the block, waiting to get in.

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People filing into the building when the doors opened at 9:00 a.m.

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Inside the big, dusty warehouse full of books.

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We hadn't had any breakfast before going to the book sale, so we stopped at the new Dunkin Donuts near the University on the way home.

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Then a quick change of clothes and Blaze was off to go swimming with Noah's Endeavor (inclusive athletics). He had a great time and is getting close to being able to swim on his own.

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After swimming, Blaze and I went to the fabric store, which may not have been as fun for him as it was for me. I had gone there looking for flannel to make myself a winter skirt and all the flannel was on sale.

Sunday, we went to Hope Farm for their Fall Festival. It's a horse farm that is specifically for Hippotherapy (physical or occupational therapy, in which horses are used as treatment tools).
If you wish to learn more about this farm and their programs, their website is:

http://www.horseshelpingpeople.org/

Blaze is not one of their patients/students, but it is something I have wondered about getting him involved in and that is the big reason I wanted to go visit the farm. I wanted to see what it was like and if he would enjoy it. He had a great time!

Many of the children were wearing Halloween costumes and so were the horses.

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There were games, a hay ride, a live band, and food.

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Hay maze
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Potato sack race between Blaze and our friend, who really didn't know what she was getting herself into. There was much falling and much laughing, since neither of them had ever done this before.

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Blaze won, but they both got quite a workout.

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One of the highlights of the afternoon was watching Magnifico, a highly trained, trick horse.

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Our busy social calendar doesn't end with the weekend. Tonight is the Student Family Housing Halloween carnival and Thursday the sororities are hosting their annual trick-or-treat event, Ghosts, Ghouls, and Greeks.

What Will We Do if Zombies Attack?

It seems that for awhile, earlier this month, the University of Florida had a zombie preparedness plan on the books, but now it has been removed.

The complete story can be found here:

Zombie Preparedness Plan

What will we do when the zombies show up now? They seem to have already invaded my daughter's school.

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Ula, dressed for the biggest dance of the year on campus, Zombie Prom.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

The Perfect Soup for a Rainy Fall Day

The bright Autumnal colors of the vegetables sauteing for Tammy's Rosemary Corn Soup is enough to brighten any dreary day

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and the soup is as delicious as it is pretty.

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For the recipe visit Rosemary Corn Soup Recipe at Laugh, Live, Learn, Love

Friday, October 23, 2009

Paint it Black ( and a bit Orange)

I've been so busy making Blaze's Halloween costume that we haven't made any Halloween decorations until now. Yesterday and today we worked on replacing our Fall Nature Table with some Halloween themed projects.

We painted the branch that had been our Autumn Nature table "tree" black, so it could be our spooky tree, and painted a miniature pumpkin black, so we could turn it into a spider.

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To make the spider:

Paint a miniature pumpkin with black acrylic paint. When the paint is dry, glue two small white pom poms on as eyes and use a small spot of paint on each pom pom as the pupils. Next, poke eight holes in the pumpkin ( I used a knitting needle for this job) and insert a black pipe stem cleaner ( chenille stick ) into each hole to form the legs.

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For the tree, after we painted the branch black, we painted the flower pot it sits in, to look like a Jack O'Lantern.

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When the paint was dry, we stung fake spider webs on the branches and hung cloth ghosts from two of the branches.

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Oooooh, Spooky!

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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The Completed Costume

Now presenting, Blaze, the airship pirate!

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We had a lot of fun with our little fashion photo-shoot.

Blaze has been talking about DH and I being part of his crew, so one of the things we gave DH for his birthday was a flight pin, just like the one I made for Blaze's costume. I also made one for myself, but in a different color, and I added mine to a crazy quilted choker, instead of making it into a pin.

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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

The End of the Internet

I did! I finally reached the last page on the internet:

www.wwwdotcom.com

Cemetery Tourism: Part Two

The following pictures were taken at three cemeteries that are within easy walking distance of each other in the Old City part of St. Augustine, Florida. Each of the cemeteries tells a different story about the history of St. Augustine.


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Just a little music to listen to while looking at my cemetery posts. A 17th Century Irish Poem put to music:

Crafty Crow